Max I hear you about switching from side to side when you're not as young and limber as you once were. It was a little awkward switching and then the paddle was in the way so i had to be careful so it didn't fall in the water. Several times I thought it would be nice to have paddle holders on both sides. But deploying and rolling up the tramps on the water aren't too difficult to accomplish if you needed to pull in an aka for docking. The tramps are definitely a worthwhile investment in my opinion and I'll continue to use mine and work around the rudder issue.

Chris the scenario you spoke of could work. I've crawled out onto a tramp a few times already but I prefer being in the seat while underway.

Looks good Pirate. I see you have one of those "faster" red AI's

Looks like ChrisJ has provided the answer, since I can't imagine often take a friend along, and never for long periods or in strong conditions, I imagine sitting each side would be the way to go, particularily as I manage to sail without needing Pedalling. Florida, It's good to hear that Jetty-folding the AMA is not a really fiddley thing to do.Pirate makes a happy and welcome observation about getting the lines out of the Cockpit, especially if you have the extra adjustable Barber Hauler lines to deal with.Once when climbing in I accidentally leaned on the Hobie Paddle whilst it was in it's rest, this irreparably bent the plastic joiner which had to be replacedWith the mesh I would now have somewhere else to temporarily place the paddle out of the way whilst I got seated.

Yes, Red Boats get more girls, and that's a very nice peacefull Photograph BTW.

Mickey and I decided that a full tramp set-up would prevent any paddling and be of limited benefit in that format so we decided to go it alone and get some built. We got them yesterday but Mickey is out of action with the flu (he claims it isn't the Swine variety) so I went out solo for a first try today. I found I could sit out and even stand on them as they are out of the same type of tramp material. It will be a great location for the sheets rather than around the legs and large enough to carry stuff with two large pockets built in. I didn't have any expectation to be carrying passengers though I can see it will be great to be able to get the grandkids on board. I am also expecting it to keep me a bit dryer in the windier weather though there was little of that today to test it. Anyway first impressions are very positive and I think we will be using them often when sailing. Come on you woos Mickey. The Gippsland Lakes are just the thing to fix the flu...Pirate

Nice shot Pirate!I'm very pleased to see what they look like on as I haven't had a chance to get out and do anything with them yet.A significant difference in this design is that it includes the forward bow spray skirt as well as the nes side tramps (albiet half width).Some more photos from Pirate will no doubt reveal this more clearly.

Pirate, any chance of you telling us the total cost of your home-crafted Tramps?

Firstly I should prefix this by acknowledging that Hobie have seemingly provided a first class product at a reasonable cost with their AI trampolines. For our project cutting costs was not the object though would have been nice. Primarily we wanted spray protection like Hawaii Bob has perfected, more area to put thing whilst out there sailing and fishing and like Hobie's product, strong enough to be able to get out on and even stand up on. We are also mindful that both of us are new to kyaks and like the paddle as well as the peddle experience.Our tramps hopefully give us all this and be stowed around the forward aka, well at least that is the plan. They have 10 mm rope sewn in around the edges to give some stiffness and hopefully help reduce splash and spray and generally tried to tick all the boxes. I am sure we will find improvements that can be made and which we may add to later. The cost to us was $400 each set which is not inconsiderable but which included being made out of the best material available as well as extra labour costs for the extra time needed to fiddle to get them to our specs . We are hoping it is money well spent but we will wait and see on that. More pics and video will be forthcoming when we get out again.Great video Jim and your partner looked very comfortable and safe riding beside you on the tramp, but now she wants to go with you every time. ...Pirate

Went sailing, again in light winds, on the weekend to try out the new 'wings'. They worked fine though not enough wind to try out the 'keeping dryer bit'. Here are a couple of pics of the 'wings' laid out and rolled up for your interest...Pirate

You sure have done a professional-looking job and dealt with Two needs in One mod.

Up here in the tropics a wave in the face is more ,"Fun", than the, "Refreshing", waves you get down there in Mexico so I opted for the Hobie Tramps from Sunstate Hobie.The colour choice was tough, the Grey-coloured Tramps match the Grey in the Red boats sail, and the Black also looks good.Mal from Sunstate had already packaged the Black tramps so I settled for them.

Chris, paddling is no more difficult with the tramps in place than without them. As you would be well aware there is an acquired technique to be utilised to enable paddling inside the amas but no more difficult than that. The shaft of the paddle does run along the edge of the tramp but it works more like a guide and there is no way it would ever damage paddle or tramp. Complete success in that department.5th of November, your input is relevant though I don't believe that they will prematurely fail. The fabric is tops and the thread is very tough but time will be the best judge. I will keep you informed....Pirate